Archives for January 2016

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Betricia and I am currently a stay at home mom. This is the first book Ive written which is a children’s book.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Jada Sundae And The Gumdrop Fairies Rescue”
My oldest daughter is the inspiration for this book. Her big imagination and even bigger sweet tooth is what helped me to create this book.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I usually wake up in the middle of the night and write.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve been a Harry Potter fan since the very first book and it opened me up to writing.

What are you working on now?
Im working on another book in the Jada Sundae series.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook and Amazon

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Dont give up EVER!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Dont promote keep writing!

What are you reading now?
The Mortal Instruments Series

What’s next for you as a writer?
To create a childrens tv show

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The House Of Night Series

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am 22 years old and originally from Pittsburgh, now living in Queen Creek, Arizona. I currently work as a live in nanny and devote all of my free time to writing. I’m in the process of self publishing my first novel, Bewilderments of the Eyes, which will be released this summer. As for future projects, I have three other novels in the works, all at various stages of completion, and new ideas are popping into my head every day! I write contemporary fiction, specifically of the New Adult genre.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first novel, Bewilderments of the Eyes, will have its cover reveal this coming week (February 3rd) and has a summer release date that has not yet been announced. Bewilderments is a story about a college-aged girl who struggles with depression and anxiety, and is fighting to take back control of her life. I was inspired to write this story because I am a firm believer in self care, and I avidly support the notion that the masses need to be more aware of the various forms mental illness come in. It is upsetting to me that self care is often viewed as selfish, self-indulgent, or egocentric. Losing sleep, not eating right, inner battles, and other forms of self neglect are often romanticized. The inability to understand mental illnesses, and the tendency to undermine their effect on its victims, is what spurred me to write this story.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’m a lover of YA. I devour John Green, Sarah Dessen, Marie Rutkoski, Kiera Cass, and the like. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is always my answer to “What is your favorite book?”. All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven and How To Build A Girl by Caitlin Moran are both books that affected me to my core. I’m also a huge sucker for dystopians. Obviously Harry Potter is a given; they were the beginning of my love affair with reading. The Great Gatsby is one of my all-time favorites, and I’ve got a quote from The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath tattooed on my arm. All in all, I’m looking for books that make me cry-tears of devastation, hope, laughter-and books that stay with me for years to follow.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I’m putting the majority of my energy into publishing Bewilderments. When I’m not working on that, I am writing and editing the second draft of the manuscript for my second novel that I completed during 2015’s NaNoWriMo.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve found that Twitter and creating a Facebook page have been the most effective at promoting my writing. I’m still fairly new to the world of publishing and book marketing, and I learn more every day. But, in general, I turn to Twitter to keep a dialogue going and remind everyone that I’m here. Also, I follow my favorite authors on Twitter and that helps not only to inspire me but I pick up a lot of tips from their tweets. Other than that, word of mouth really does the trick. Talking to people, starting conversation. That’s what really gets around.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write. Embrace yourself as a writer. My biggest struggle upon starting out was self-doubt. I wouldn’t call myself a writer, I undermined my work, and that’s no good. I also spent too much time thinking and analyzing. As soon as I learned to just let go and get the words down, everything else came so easily. So just write! Whenever you feel inspired, whenever you have something to say, write it down. Maybe you’ll end up deleting it later, maybe you won’t. It doesn’t matter. Sometimes the smallest thought or line can lead to something much bigger. Own your authorship, and engage your authorship.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I was talking to my friend on the phone one day about how scatter-brained I can be and how I felt that I should be working on one project, but I was feeling inspiration for another. She said to me, “You’re a freakin’ artist, man. Go wherever the wind takes you.” I wrote it up on a post-it and stuck it to my mirror to remind me that you can’t manipulate the Muse. You’ve got to go where she leads, and struggling only leads to writer’s block and frustration!

What are you reading now?
I’m almost done with Kiera Cass’s latest release, The Siren, and will be moving on to Glass Sword (the second installment of Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard) once it’s released Feb. 9th. I’m also in the middle of So We Read On by Maureen Corrigan.

What’s next for you as a writer?
First and foremost is the launch for Bewilderments. Coming up in the next couple of months I have the cover reveal, the launch of the revamp of my author website, and ARCs going out for review. Beyond that, I will be preparing my second novel for its first round of editing in an effort to get that story into readers’ hands as well!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would not last very long on a desert island. Therefore, I would want to spend my last days with my favorite characters. I would bring The Winner’s Curse because not only do the characters and the story have me addicted, but Rutkoski’s way with words soothes my soul. I would bring Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix because it is the longest book of the series, and I would bring The Perks Of Being A Wallflower because I feel further enriched every single time I read it. I would also bring Mockingjay because it hurts so good.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a seasoned author from many moons ago! I wrote my first novel at the age of 14, and it was horrible! Twenty four years later, I went back in time to retrieve that book, entitled ‘ A quest for the four keys in Wonderland’ and added two more books these past two years, making it a 3 – in – 1, and perfecting, adjusting and reshaping the entire series. It turned out better than I imagined and folks are really digging the plot twists and falling in love with the characters, some have said “It’s almost too easy” and that was a great accolade within its self . I gave my heart to the “written word” a long time ago, only to encounter that love again not so long ago, after taking a life long pause. I want to write more when time allows me to do that, and there will be more to come!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Legacy of a Legend, was the last ”Historical Fiction” book I wrote. I have visions of what a story should be, long after I gaze at a picture. I don’t know, it stirs me up inside, it makes the creative juices start to trickle within me and an unstoppable force hijacks my heart, where I’m forced into submission, and I must obey “The God’s of writing” as we/us writers say! It’s stronger than any other passion I possess, it always has been and my inspiration for this particular book was the mere fact that its unique story line has not been told anywhere else, or that none other resembles it and I love heroines with a deep rooted purpose.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do! Actually, I have a few “bad” habits, like most writers do… coffee and cigarettes! Let’s not confuse them for “eyeliner and cigarettes” as lady gaga says!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love Phillipa Gregory! She’s my heroine, and I must admit, I secretly have a fascination with her writing style, not that I would mimic her but… we have similar attributes in the same genre. I love her book and series, ( when it was on the air ) The White Queen.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a project that involves using a pen name, and wow! It’s actually pretty cool! Look out for Liliana L.S., who will bring avid readers or mystery lovers a ground breaking series, well, in volumes that is, of Historical Enigmas & Urban Legends. I love Historical based mysteries especially the ones who haven’t been solved yet, also Urban Legends. What could be more appealing than telling a tale from the past that spooked us beyond compare, and trying to figure out if it was real or not? It involves using the old noggin’ a whole lot, a little different than my usual Historical Fantasy and Fiction works, but none the less, it’ll be challenging and super intriguing.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use social media in most cases, I also cover a few events throughout the year, mostly those within the U.S. and Canada, but look for more events to come that are going to be abroad! I’ve built an audience and made some wonderful friendships over the years who are special and dear to my heart and I want to give a shout out to some! Margaret Westlake, Madelaine Rodriguez, Janet Boal, Zoran Vitorovic, Terri Johnson, Mladena Bojkovic, Boban Jovanovic, Ana Caruana, Mary Ayala, Terri Johnson, Michael Kraxenburger, Kathy G. Ellis, Simon C Lord III, Deborah Oren, Maryann Powell, Chelsea Barnes and so many others to mention, we wouldn’t have enough space here! I want to thank them so much for every effort they put into my writing and daily posts of sharing, liking, commenting and reading, I am truly nothing without them.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Jump in and don’t look back! Why? Because if you truly love it with all your might… you’ll find a way to succeed no matter the outcome.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Follow your heart, but take your brain with you! It’s that simple.

What are you reading now?
Unfortunately, I have a list of the books I need to get to but don’t have the time. I will have plenty of time when in the air on 16 hour flights and so on! I’ll devour all I can.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Promoting and events are what’s in store for now. My dream is to make a movie with any of my books, but it hasn’t reached fruition yet! It may be a very long time before that happens, but I remain optimistic, as I can’t and refuse to let my fans, the ones who have asked for a film, down!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Game Of Thrones Series simple because I started it long ago and haven’t quite finished it. The Red Queen by Phillipa Gregory and any self help books that would allow me to muster up a concoction so I can get off the Island – LOL!

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in Toronto and grew up in London, Canada. I was the first winner of the Lillian Kroll Prize for Creative Writing at Western University, where I also completed a degree in English Literature. I have published four books of fiction in recent years as well as two books of poetry deep in the murky past. So call it six if you like.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is called The Launch. I had a major disappointment in my artistic life which created a surprising amount of anger and resentment in me. I decided to write about it and play it out in my mind to see where it might lead.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Used to listen to music because Stephen King always did. Then I decided it wasn’t working for me and now I write to silence. Abandoning a proven habit used by a bestselling author who once wrote a book on writing is pretty unusual. Huh.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
It’s funny you ask me that, because I set up a special shelf on my Goodreads page all about the top ten books which influenced me the most. Here is the link:

Discuss. I will point out that my favorite book by my favorite author is on there: Cider House Rules by John Irving. Read the book before you see the movie, but see the movie. Then read My Movie Business by Irving, which summarizes the whole experience. Then your life will be complete.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on a YA book that I’m calling a Celtic Fantasy, as well as a book of short stories revolving around the ex-pat crowd in Paris in the mid-twenties. As you can tell, I don’t stick to one genre at all. I like to mix it up, keep it interesting.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My own site, mostly. But Awesomegang is a new fave. 🙂

Do you have any advice for new authors?
That’s a tough one. I don’t claim to know what would help another writer. It’s pretty personal, but maybe there are commonalities. How about I tell you some things that work for me? Yes? Okay. First suggestion is that a writer reads. Lots. I read 4 to 5 books a month and I have a full time day job, a 12-year-old daughter with an active sports and social life (and no driver’s licence, obviously), and I also write for 1 to 2 hours per day. Find the time. Second is to work with a professional editor. It’s amazing the insights you can glean from a skilled, dispassionate third party. Also, write every day no matter how little it is, read your work out loud when no one else is around, and eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies to keep your mind sharp! 

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The art of writing is in the application of the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair. (Paraphrasing and too lazy to look it up.)

What’s next for you as a writer?
Lasting fame and fortune. Financial independence. Shoot for the moon, right?

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
One John Irving, Stephen Fry’s Paperweight, and maybe something poetry by Maggie Atwood.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an author, poet, and educator from Montgomery, AL. In the past, I wrote numerous online articles and currently have several projects in the works. More of my features are Chicago’s Poetry Exhale with Pizaaz . As a previous Yahoo! contributor, I did several guest blogs, including a feature spot on Be A Bestseller website. I am a Liberty University graduate. From Now until Infinity: A Reflection into Womanhood (2006) is my first poetry collection. Since then, there is a follow-up book From Infinity until Beyond: A Journey into Life (2010). NAKED: A Book of Monologues for African American Women (2013) has been a recommended read in the acting community. “Moments of HerStory” a book of memoirs that includes one of my many life stories was an Amazon bestseller and made # 1 on its Hot New Releases.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Collection: A Book of Short Stories is a diverse literary collection in style and content, making it the perfect read for everyone. It has short stories and flash fiction. It has historical fiction, contemporary fiction, horror, and science fiction. The stories center around common themes of death, mental illness, and family. Have you ever people-watched or thought about a series of events and thought, “What if…?” This thoughts are the origination of my characters and stories.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My books often come to me during sleep, and I also have a special connection with my characters. They beseech me, and if I don’t get them down on paper, they will drive me almost mad!!!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have always been a fan of Toni Morrison, Ntozake Shange, and Judy Blume. These authors motivate me through many of the projects I undertake.

What are you working on now?
Right now I am tackling a novel and poetry collection that combines all of my past poems and features some new ones. In the upcoming year, I also plan to release three manuscripts that I am polishing. However, there is no tentative release date for these.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I must admit I have a crazy method to my madness…I want to keep that secret for now!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I would tell other writers to be persistent, follow their heart, and do their research.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Well, knowing that one must have a thick skin, I was told to not give up. I can say that is by far the best advice I’ve ever received. I may take a break, but giving up is not in my vocabulary.

What are you reading now?
I am going through a transition process, and I am a self-help junky. My current read is “In the Meantime” by Iyanla Vanzant. She keeps me chilled when life becomes stressful.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am looking forward to creating audiobooks and a comedy sitcom! I am always reaching for ways to expand my brand.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would definitely have to bring The Bible to keep me grounded; Shakespeare to keep me reading; and a journal to keep me writing!

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an author, poet, and educator from Montgomery, AL. In the past, I wrote numerous online articles and currently have several projects in the works. More of my features are Chicago’s Poetry Exhale with Pizaaz . As a previous Yahoo! contributor, I did several guest blogs, including a feature spot on Be A Bestseller website. I am a Liberty University graduate. From Now until Infinity: A Reflection into Womanhood (2006) is my first poetry collection. Since then, there is a follow-up book From Infinity until Beyond: A Journey into Life (2010). NAKED: A Book of Monologues for African American Women (2013) has been a recommended read in the acting community. “Moments of HerStory” a book of memoirs that includes one of my many life stories was an Amazon bestseller and made # 1 on its Hot New Releases.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Collection: A Book of Short Stories is a diverse literary collection in style and content, making it the perfect read for everyone. It has short stories and flash fiction. It has historical fiction, contemporary fiction, horror, and science fiction. The stories center around common themes of death, mental illness, and family. Have you ever people-watched or thought about a series of events and thought, “What if…?” This thoughts are the origination of my characters and stories.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My books often come to me during sleep, and I also have a special connection with my characters. They beseech me, and if I don’t get them down on paper, they will drive me almost mad!!!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have always been a fan of Toni Morrison, Ntozake Shange, and Judy Blume. These authors motivate me through many of the projects I undertake.

What are you working on now?
Right now I am tackling a novel and poetry collection that combines all of my past poems and features some new ones. In the upcoming year, I also plan to release three manuscripts that I am polishing. However, there is no tentative release date for these.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I must admit I have a crazy method to my madness…I want to keep that secret for now!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I would tell other writers to be persistent, follow their heart, and do their research.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Well, knowing that one must have a thick skin, I was told to not give up. I can say that is by far the best advice I’ve ever received. I may take a break, but giving up is not in my vocabulary.

What are you reading now?
I am going through a transition process, and I am a self-help junky. My current read is “In the Meantime” by Iyanla Vanzant. She keeps me chilled when life becomes stressful.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am looking forward to creating audiobooks and a comedy sitcom! I am always reaching for ways to expand my brand.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would definitely have to bring The Bible to keep me grounded; Shakespeare to keep me reading; and a journal to keep me writing!

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am passionate about theology, I find it fascinating and, truly, what can be more important if you are a christian than to find out more about who or what God is. I love to dig into this subject, since there is much to be discovered. The amazing thing is that in this journey for truth, I have discovered that many Christian ideas and concepts are not based on Scripture but on pagan mythology! The sad thing is that most Christians don’t know it. We must remember that for centuries people were not allowed to read the Bible for themselves and were persecuted if they challenged the religious dogmas. During this time a lot of unbliblical ideas crept in and have become entrenched in the Christian culture and are now accepted as “truth”.
I am now an independent writer but have worked for The Miami Herald and other major newspapers as a journalist.
I have written articles in newspapers and magazines but this is my first book

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first book is “No Other God: How to Return to the Forgotten God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. I have been studying the issue of who is God for a long time and have seen all the misconceptions about God and Jesus Christ in the Christian community. This book presents a radical view of God, but based solely on Scripture and what it reveals about this important subject.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
To help me focus and concentrate I like to put on some earphones and listen to soft jazz music or sounds that help relax brain waves.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like the analytical style C.S Lewis uses in his writings on Christianity,
Also the witty social and political criticism found in H.L. Mencken and I love the Jane Austen novels.

What are you working on now?
I will be starting the second book of the series I began with the first book. The series will challenge different Christian concpets that I find are not Biblical.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
One of the best methods for me is creating a good launch team for each book

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Find a way to overcome your fear. I think the fear of failure or thinking that your book will not be good enough keeps many people form writing. Start mind mapping and once you have an outline, just go for it! Don’t edit in this process, just write and when you’re done with that first draft, then take the time to edit. Finish the draft first!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I’m a perfectionist and this leads to procrastination, since you find fault in everything you write. So, for me, the best advice was to never edit while you’re working on the first draft. Finish it first and then edit. This helped me get my book done in several weeks!

What are you reading now?
Several books on internet marketing, such as Dot Com Secrets, and The Two Babylons

What’s next for you as a writer?
The second book in the No Other God series

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible
Don Quixote
Pride and Pejudice

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a mother, a grandmother. Everything else is up for grabs as I seem to totally redefine myself every seven years or so to keep from being bored. How many books? Dozens. Most of which I have burned. I am currently working on book five of “The Black Bead Chronicles”, but am constantly penning short stories that I plan on developing into longer novels in the future.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The book that I have finished and am getting ready to publish is called “Trade Fair: Book Four of the Black Bead Chronicles.” The series began as a nubbin of “what if” twenty years ago in a short story that ended badly for everyone. The question I asked was – what if evolution took a different route and animals used psychic abilities to hunt instead of tooth and claw? I have rewritten it a few times and then wrote “Black Bead” which found a perfect balance between terror and innocence.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I think amazing thoughts behind the wheel of my car. Things pop into my head and I spend the rest of the day stealing moments to manically write it into a file before the juices dry up or the next amazing thought erases the first.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have read all the classic sci-fi authors. Asimov, Bradbury, Heinlein, Dick, Le Guin, Herbert, Ellison, Vonnegut, McCaffery, Cherryh, … the list is endless. I have been reading sci-fi/fantasy almost exclusively since I was twelve.

What are you working on now?
I am 56,000 words into “Dunauken – Book Five of the Black Bead Chronicles.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I take advantage of my Kindle Promo days to offer the first book for free so that readers can try out my writing and see if they like the series. Hopefully they do, and will support my writing by purchasing the remaining books. I also advertise through Facebook and Kindle, and have gotten quite a few downloads that way. Sales are slowly trickling in for the second book in the series. Books three and four will be coming out in 2016 so I look forward to offering those to my readers!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The only way to learn your craft is to write. Write what makes you happy. Write what you want to read. There are a lot of people who want to tell you how to write, what to write. Ignore them.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Harlan Ellison: To say more is to say less.

What are you reading now?
Ender’s Game for about the 20th time.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a half dozen short stories on my blog that interest me enough to want to expand the storyline and do a little world building.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Good god. I shudder at the idea. There would be no time to read. I would be busy building a raft.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a science graduate and a revenue officer by profession.I write poetry in Hindi and fiction in Hindi and English. I love to write fiction inspired from reality. I am from Jhansi and live in Cochin,India

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Robbers’ Hill, a novelette. This book was inspired by my memories of the news headlines about The Bandit Queen Phoolan Devi when she was active and when consequently she surrendered.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have creativity flashes,when i can write very fast.Otherwise i find it difficult to write.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Mostly Indian writers like Premchand,Gulshan Nanda,Chetan Bhagat,Amish and a few English writers like Graham Green, Pablo Coehlo, Jk Rowling

What are you working on now?
Planning to write some political/detective fiction

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I find Facebook and twitter very easy and useful sites for this purpose.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
If you enjoy writing write. Don’t expect instant success.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t be afraid of trying.By trying either you succeed or learn a lesson.

What are you reading now?
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep on writing and entertaining my readers.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Ramayan,Gita, Harry Potter and some motivational books

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in Toronto, Canada, over a half century ago, moved to Japan at the age of twenty-six and never really went back. In 1997, I married my wife, Akiko, and we’ve been living in Osaka ever since. I make my living, such as it is, as an English teacher, and write whenever I get the chance.

To date, I’ve written fifteen novels, all of them save on in the Young Adult genre, and I have at least another ten ready to go or are already on submission. I write fast, getting all my ideas down and then fleshing them out as time goes by.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest YA novel is entitled The Menagerie, and is the story about a young teen, scarred in an accident that claimed the lives of her parents, kidnapped by an alien race that needs someone to care for their collection of endangered animals en route to a safe planet where they can be bred and then returned to their points of origin.

The teen, Karen Fox, is probably the most unlikely candidate, as she is somewhat disabled, is afraid of animals in general, and being kidnapped doesn’t help matters, either. Over the course of the journey, though, she transcends her fear and comes to love the animals and protects them when poachers come to claim their prize.

I was inspired by stories of those who helped abandoned and abused animals regain their health. An animal does not need much, simply a warm place to sleep, food to eat, and a kind and loving word from its keeper. They give love unconditionally and ask for so little…how could anyone not like them?

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. I park my butt in my chair and start typing away. If you have to do something, then do it!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Growing up, I loved the novels of Ray Bradbury, Frederik Pohl, and Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Robert McCammon is also a favorite of mine. They all wrote tales of the fantastic and that’s what I want to do.

What are you working on now?
It’s another YA novel entitled The Titans of Ardana, and it involves superheroes, the FBI, and a lot of sugar! That’s all I can tell you. I am also editing the YA novels Catnip 4 and 5, (available from Devine Destinies) and waiting to begin edits on another YA trilogy, The Nightmare Crew 2 and 3 from my publishers at Finch Books. There’s always something to write or edit. I try to keep busy.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
One of the best methods is sites like these. They get the word out. I use Facebook extensively, Goodreads, and recently have begun using Twitter more. The key, if there is one, is to focus on one or two books you have out, play it/them up, and keep writing.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
As above, keep writing and don’t stop. Get your ideas down, don’t worry about bad grammar or mistakes. Get those thoughts down on cyber paper and keep going! Read other authors, see how they set up pace and narrative and dialogue. Learn all you can and use that knowledge to further your own work.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never stop. Pour your heart and soul into your work. As the line in The Titans of Ardana goes, “Hold nothing back. Give everything.” That’s what other writers said to me when I first started out. That’s what I say to everyone else.

What are you reading now?
Nothing much, as I’m busy with work and writing, but anything by N.K. Jemisin is great.

What’s next for you as a writer?
More work! There’s always a new idea to be written about. I want to improve my narrative skills as much as possible, refine my talent, and keep getting better. Never ending improvement is what it’s all about to me.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Inferno, by Niven and Pournelle, as well as Lucifer’s Hammer. The Stand, by King, and Gone South, by Robert McCammon. They’d satisfy my lust for good reading, good stories and good action.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hey, everyone! I’m Kristina Knight, and I write contemporary romances that are sassy, sexy and straight from the heart. Sound like a tagline? Well, it is, but that’s what I write! I’ve published 10 books, with 4 more on the schedule this year – fun times! I live in Ohio with my husband and young daughter…when I’m not writing, I’m usually chasing after one or the other of them!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
What the Bachelor Gets is the first in my new Billionaire Cowboys trilogy. It’s a series of books about three brothers, raised just outside Las Vegas. After some hard times, they’ve built up their careers, but they still harbor some old wounds…and three women just might help them heal.

I love Las Vegas, and I’ve wanted to set a book there for the longest time. I hope I do the city justice!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so…but other people probably think I do. When I’m writing I fuel up with Coca-Cola Classic and something sugary (gummy sweettarts more often than not). I’m not sure how unusual that is!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
So so so many! I fell in love with reading a long time ago. Nora Roberts and Jayne Ann Krentz are favorites along with classics like Louisa May Alcott and Jane Austen. I love Elin Hilderbrand and Stephanie Evanovich…there are so many!!!

What are you working on now?
I’m finishing up the second book in my Billionaire Cowboys series, and will start book three in a couple of weeks. I also just sold a new series to one of my publishers and I can’t wait to get started on those books!

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I love Facebook and Google+ because they’re very informal. I can post to reader groups about my books, and then enter into conversation. I love talking to readers – not just about my books, but about books in general. For straight-up advertising, there are all kinds of sites – BookBub, MyRomanceReads, here at AwesomeGang…you name it!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never stop writing, and don’t believe all of the ‘you have to write like this’ advice out there. You have to find your own voice, and the best way to do that is to write and write and write some more. Writing can be a struggle, and it can be lonely, but when you find your groove, it’s amazing. So don’t give up!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
A couple of years ago I attended a talk with Nora Roberts (love her!) and someone asked her this same question. I expected a long, drawn-out answer, but here message was short and sweet: Stop whining and write, stop fucking around and write, stop making excuses and write.
Very true advice!

What are you reading now?
I’m really into Maisey Yates’ Copper Ridge series right now, and I just started Elin Hilderbrand’s The Island, and I’ve got a stack of books on my Kindle that just might kill it…

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m in the middle of releasing What the Bachelor Gets, and I have two other releases in the next month. The first is the At Her Service boxed set, its filled with 8 never before published novellas that center around the idea of a hired man. My book in the set is called Perfect on Paper. I’m also in the Shades of Desire 2 Romance Bundle, a set of 12 sweet and spicy romance; my book in that set is the first on my Anthem Trilogy, called Light My Fire.
The second Billionaire Cowboy book will release in May, it’s called What the Heiress Wants, and the third book in the series is set for September, and it’s called What the Gambler Risks. It’s going to be a busy year!!!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Tough question! Okay, I was going to cheat and say one book – my Kindle! But I’ll play by the rules…I’d bring along Little Women because I never tire of that book, The Princess Bride because it is one of my favorites, Northern Lights by Nora Roberts and a blank book…so I could write something of my own to entertain me!

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am MW Sims and I am an author, music composer and soon-to-be film producer. Thus far, the majority of my writing experience came from sales letters. It was only recently I began writing fiction and have, so far, written seven short-stories and have just recently put together an anthology containing some of those stories.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Tales of Madness: The Anthology. I had always been a fan of the horror genre and had grown tired of the redundant formula it had been following as of late—clowns, zombies, Japanese ghosts, more zombies—and therefore decided to revisit some of the more classic origins of horror such as the unknown. Basically, I felt the horror market had been under-served.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, many bad ones, in fact! I’ll usually space out for a good fifteen minutes before I write. Once I begin writing, I will let loose for about an hour, only to go back and immediately erase and re-write everything. Only kidding (a little). In all seriousness, depending on the tone of the work, I actually start my process by composing a “theme song” for the title (i.g. I will create a long, deep and bassy drone loop with ominous notes buried underneath if I am trying to convey a story about dread.).
Usually, with films, the music is done afterward or during. For me, before I begin writing a story, I immediately let the music craft the scenes.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
When I was a child I got started on R.L. Stine, but always felt it was too lighthearted (I like true really bizarre and depressing works, don’t ask me why) and I recall, in the 6th grade, coming across Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”. Something about it’s bizarre and macabre atmosphere really intrigued me. I would later move on to discovering H.P. Lovecraft. I am also heavily inspired by the film-director John Carpenter.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I am working on a novel titled Portraits of Pain. I’m classifying it as a horror, however, it holds many elements of thriller & mystery as well. Most of the details are being kept scarce for now, but it involves a complex character who has been struggling, internally, with several conflicts regarding his deceased wife and ill daughter. Needing money for his daughter’s treatment, he comes into contact with an art collector who commissions him to recover (steal) an extremely-rare and obscure painting. There are several mysteries surrounding the painting and its creator, and our main character (Eric) discovers the true-horror behind the painting first-hand.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
When I had initially begun my self-publishing journey, I was extremely delusional. I figured all which had to be done was throw the title up on Amazon and purchase a Lamborghini the next day (or which ever expensive wealth-representative you prefer). Luckily, I learned—the hard way—and really began to explore marketing. I came across AwesomeGang and felt it to be a really valuable platform for not only authors, but readers. Because, lets face it, we’re not writing for ourselves here—it’s all about the readers!

Aside from AwesomeGang, I have found some decent success with my own platform which doubles as my outlet for music. Twitter was good, once upon a time, but has since been overrun by robots! Facebook is also great if you have deep-pockets for advertising (and a great story, of course)

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Fail fast, learn, re-structure! That is the only way you will truly advance. I am an entrepreneur and have many ventures outside of writing, the one thing I learned is no matter how many motivational books you read, no matter how much you learn “the craft” of something, nothing beats jumping in and doing it first-hand. NOTHING.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Deliver value, no matter how much (if at all) you’re being paid. Give people the best experiences and, in turn, they will give you the best experience. The rules of reciprocity.

What are you reading now?
Believe it or not, I don’t read a ton of fiction. At the moment, I’m getting through American Psycho. Most of my reading comes from non-fiction titles like “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins. I’ve also grown to love “Death By Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries” by Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Books revolving around science and astronomy really help me put life in perspective as I wonder about the many mysteries of the universe which are far beyond the scale of our normal lives.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am currently working on my new novel, Portraits of Pain, and will begin a new mystery series shortly after. Some of my works from Tales of Madness are being put together for a screen play which I look to begin filming by the Summer of 2016 in Monterey, California and other surrounding areas.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Well, the first (and most obvious) for me would be “Don’t Panic” by Reid Wilson, Ph. D. I feel it would be quite fitting for the situation. The second, of course, would be one of the many Lovecraft anthologies I have. The other two would likely be how-to’s regarding certain skills. After all, all of my business books would do little good if I was to be stranded on an island.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
R B Watkinson was born in 1960 in the Netherlands of Dutch parents. She now lives on a smallholding in the wilds of west Devon, England. She is married, has raised three children, and wrangles a menagerie of animals. She held down many jobs over the years, some interesting, some not. The best job as far as she was concerned was working as an editorial secretary for a few well-tamed authors. Her favourite ‘work’, however, is writing.

After gaining a Diploma in Creative Writing at Oxford University in 2011, she gained the confidence to embark on a writing career. In March 2015, she signed a three book deal with Claret Press, London (www.claretpress.com) for the epic fantasy trilogy – The Wefan Weaves.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Cracked Amulet is my debut novel. It is the first of the trilogy: The Wefan Weaves. Reading about ley lines and Neolithic sites gave me the seed of an idea. I live between Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor, so I have opportunities galore to investigate many standing stones sites and the re-imagine the myths behind them and the Earth lines on which they stand. I imagined a girl who could see these lines of energy, and so began a story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write anywhere and everywhere on my laptop in notebooks – but I don’t think that’s terribly unusual. If nothing stops me from writing, like someone saying: Isn’t it dinner time?, then I will write for hours non-stop only to emerge back into reality, blinking my eyes to see its 3 or 4 in the morning. Or I’ll wake at 5 in the morning with ideas demanding attention and have to sneak downstairs for more writing. I imagine other writers might very well do that too.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
How long a list can I write? From Tolkien to Pratchett, from Hemmingway to Stephen King. Many different styles of prose and all genres have had some influence on my writing. I’m a great believer in reading widely – though my favoured genre is Fantasy – epic and dark, such as George R R Martin, Mark Lawrence, Patrick Rothfuss, J V Jones, and many, many more.

What are you working on now?
Book two of the Wefan Weaves trilogy. It’s called: The Fractured Monolith. In this I explore the idea of standing stones being portals that can open into a place between filled with the same energy as ley lines on Earth. The Wefan energy that is the source of magic in the world of Dumnon.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Both Twitter and Facebook have served me well, but I am very new at this. My book only came out a week ago. Now I’m looking at book-lover websites, like Awedome Gang, book-blogger sites, and so on.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Practice your writing every opportunity you get and read a lot. Don’t give up when submitting to agents or publishers. If you go the self-publishing route it pays to get an editor to check your manuscript.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Get the story down before you start editing.

What are you reading now?
Neil Gaiman’s Fragile Things, an excellent anthology. Before that I read his Neverwhere, which was amazing.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Being able to really concentrate on The Fractured Monolith, Book 2 of the Wefan Weaves trilogy because Book 1, The Cracked Amulet is off and selling well with any more need for promotion.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Only 3 or 4, that’s awfully mean. J V Jones’ The Barbed Coil, George R R Martin’s The Winds of Winter (yes I know it’s not published yet, but still), Steven Erikson’s Reaper’s Gale, Guy Gavriel Kay’s Tigana and…oh damn.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Molly, I’ve been writing for publication for 8 years and doing freelance ghostwriting for about 2 years. I’m a SAH mom to 3 special needs girls so working at home is a must. I write clean, sweet romance. Under my own name, I have 4 full length novels published and 2 novellas in anthologies. I’ve lost count of how many ghost writing projects I’ve worked on.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is OUT OF CHARACTER. It’s an inspirational contemporary romance set on a reality TV show. I like the give and take of being in character and out of character. Being actors, you never know if people are being sincere or acting the whole time too.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not really. My “office” consists of my laptop set on a coffee table in the living room.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
For modern authors, I love Kierra Cass and Meg Cabot. With the classics, I’m a massive Jane Austen fan. The biggest compliment I ever received is being compared to Jane Austen.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on the sequel to OUT OF CHARACTER and also a cozy mystery series. I’d really love to incorporate autism and hearing loss more into manuscripts.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I haven’t really found the ‘golden goose’ of book marketing and promo yet. I’m always open to blog tours, blog posts, giveaways, online parties, etc. If you need content, I’m your girl.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
It’s a tough business. Don’t get discouraged. Write what you love and don’t worry about changing for the market or what’s selling at the moment.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Write what you love.

What are you reading now?
The White Rose by Amy Ewing and The Siren by Kierra Cass.

What’s next for you as a writer?
Just hoping to continue writing what I love.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
My phone with my kindle and nook app so I didn’t have to pick 3 or 4.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a wife, mother, full time employee, and speaker who enjoys several different hobbies. Most importantly, I am a follower of Jesus Christ. I have written 14 books to date, with several more stuck in my head waiting for a chance to be let out!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My newest book, Piecing Together Forgiveness: A Study of Philemon, works through the issue of forgiveness. It is designed to help people understand what forgiveness is and isn’t, all while helping them to practice forgiveness in their own lives and relationships.

Inspiration for this book really came from the fact that I didn’t want to forgive. I knew that since I was struggling with this issue, then I couldn’t be alone!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Quite frankly, I think writing at all makes me somewhat unusual! I spoken with so many people who talk about how they’ve always wanted to write a book. Setting a goal and then working to make it happen can be considered unusual.

However, I’m not that unusual in my habits. I get up early and write in the mornings, before my kids get up and I get bombarded by all the craziness that pulls me this way and that!

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have a wide variety of interests, so what I read is just as wide. I love a good, clean romance and Jane Eyre has ben one of my favorites since I was a girl. I also really enjoy books on leadership and personal development as well as good Biblical commentaries. Now that I have kids, I enjoy reading what they’re reading, too!

What are you working on now?
I always have a few ideas. Sometimes it works out that my study ends up being just for me and not something that makes its way into a book. I am studying through Lamentations right now, which is showing itself to be a very fascinating book. I write a devotional every day, so those are constantly begging to come together into a book. Also, I’ve started venturing into the world of video devotions and I’m producing and uploading one of those each week.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Writing books is easy when compared to marketing them! I can advertise and set up links and things, but honestly, I am my best promoter and I sell the most books when I go somewhere to speak. People are rarely just buying books; they are buying people. As I share my dream and vision for people to not just know what the Bible says, but to experience it and live it out daily, they get excited too. They choose to purchase the books so they can come along with me and experience my dream and vision for themselves!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get committed! You have to make a conscious decision that your message and the reason behind why you are writing is more important to you than anything else. Only with that laser focus will you go through all the difficult work that is necessary in order to see your dream become a reality.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I’ve had the advantage of hearing some phenomenal advice through the years, all of which has shaped an aspect of who I am today. One very important piece of advice I received was to focus on 1-3 major goals and then have everything that I do fall under one of those major goals. If it doesn’t, then I don’t do it. I do a lot of things, but I want to make sure that I am focused on the things that are the most important to me and not get distracted and spend time on things that truly don’t matter as much to me. Choose a few things, choose carefully, and do them well.

What are you reading now?
One of the blogs I subscribe to listed a review of the top leadership books for 2015. I love learning how to be a better, more effective leader, so I am reading through many of those books. Right now, I’m reading “Manage Your Day to Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen our Creative Mind” by Jocelyn Glei. Great book and I highly recommend it!

What’s next for you as a writer?
Well, here shortly I’m going to get up, go make breakfast, and get my kids off to school. 🙂

On a more global basis, one of my major goals is to help people not just know what the Bible says, but actively apply it to their lives. So, everything I do has to have the end purpose of accomplishing that goal. Right now, God has opened doors for me to write, so I continue to write, focusing on that goal. As I continue to branch out and try additional methods such as videos and speaking engagement, I stay very focused on what my message is. Methods can change, but the message remains the same!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
First for me would be the Bible. Next, practically, I should think a survival guide to living on a stranded island. You know, food, water, hut making, and ship building. Finally, I’d bring “Oh the places you’ll go” by Dr. Seuss. I’ll need something to continue to encourage me to keep at it when I get discouraged.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is J.S. Strange. I have been writing since I was seventeen, working on a zombie apocalypse series called ‘Winter Smith’. My debut novel is being published on the 18th April 2016.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
‘Winter Smith: London’s Burning’ is the name of my new and debut novel. It’s a zombie apocalypse novel based in London. One day, when I was sat on a plane, the idea came to me and I could already see Winter and knew what her story was.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not sure if you could call them unusual, but I work best when I have a view and have had a cup of coffee. I like to sit by a window, so I can watch the outside world go by as I write.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
J.K. Rowling is probably my biggest influence. I grew up with her books and without her I wouldn’t have gotten into reading and writing.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on the second instalment of the Winter Smith series. They are in France and are beginning to learn the truth behind the apocalypse. I’m also planning to release a journal that Winter Smith writers during London’s Burning. As well as this, I’m planning a few other novels away from the Winter Smith series, such as a romantic comedy and a psychological thriller.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Hmm, I’ve only been promoting for the past couple of days, as my book is now available for pre-order. I think I underestimated it, because I’m struggling at the moment to find the right ways to promote. Facebook seems to be doing okay, and Goodreads has pointed me to reviewers and interviewers.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I think if you want to write, then write. Don’t read a first draft and think it’s awful. don’t make excuses. You won’t get anything done unless you write.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just be yourself. I never tried to fit the norms of society, and I do go against convention sometimes if I feel stifled. I think you need an edge and you need personality.

What are you reading now?
Well I just finished reading a book about Alcatraz, from a prisoners point of view. I’m waiting for a few books to be delivered now. I hate not having a book to read!

What’s next for you as a writer?
A whole lot of promotion for London’s Burning! I’m also hoping to release another book sometime this year, before the release of the second instalment of the Winter Smith series next year.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would take an erotic book, because a man has needs, right? I would also take Harry Potter, the Deathly Hallows, and I would take a Jackie Collins story.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve been writing for the past fifteen years but prior to that I always developed stories in my mind. I wrote but never got the stories into documents. I remember when I saw the first Word Processor and thought, Wow, this could make writing easy. It still toke me years to start actually typing.

I’ve just completed the first draft of my fourth novel. The first three were self published although the second has been picked up by Booktrope. All three of my published novels have been awarded mdals or been finalists in Indie book contests. I’m proud of that.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, Stolen Breeze, is the re-launch of a sailing adventure I wrote a few years back. The title comes from elements of the story. There is a crime, a theft, and since wind is an important element in sailing I wanted to represent it in the title. The other aspect of the meaning of the title is that in yacht racing a strategic technique is to steal another yachts wind so it worked out that we fore shadow the story and use a sailing reference as well.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I sit in a comfortable chair with my feet up rather than sitting at a desk. I like to have classical music playing but other than that nothing unusual. For some reason I always seem to be in the revision phase of writing when I plan trips to Japan. I end up doing a lot of that work while staying in Tokyo.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Atlas Shrugged influenced my take on life, not my writing but it is a significant influnce for me. Cormas McCarthy’s writing gets me going and I recently read, Billy Flynn’s Long Halftime Walk, by Ben Fountain and it’s stayed with me a long time. Great writing. Lots of pace, quirky characters, very entertaining. The entertainment factor of writing is a big influence for me.

What are you working on now?
Revisions of my fourth novel. I don’t have a title yet. It’s a murder mystery that takes place in Calgary, Canada. A city deeply centered in the oil industry. There are spy’s and business intrigues happening while the protaganist tries to protect his wife.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
There’s no substitute for word-of-mouth recommendations. I haven’t found any type of promotion online that I would call the best method. Exposure is a key element and sites that present information about an author help a lot but readers talking about your book is the best promotion possible.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get an editor. Trade for services or pay for the work but get your book edited by an independent. If you think you’re pretty good at it yourself or a family member can do it, you’re wrong. The ‘indepenent’ part of editing is what’s critical.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Be open to your editor’s suggestions but remember your work is a representation of yourself. You have the final say.

What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading a book on writing. I don’t read a lot of books about the craft but thought this one sounded interesting. Shoot Your Novel by C.S. Larkin. I read these books but don’t adhere to them. I use them to make me concentrate on what I’m doing in writing at the time.

What’s next for you as a writer?
There’s a lot of promotional work in my near future. It’s an interesting time in an author’s life. You sit and work almost entirely alone and all of a sudden you have to become a interacting member of society. While all that’s going on I’ll be listening to my inner story teller to see which of my ideas become my next writing project. I have a few.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand
Islands In The Stream – Ernest Hemingway
Shogun – James Clavell

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Mir Maid is the first book I’ve published, though I’ve been writing science fiction, fan fiction, and children’s stories since I was a teen.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Mir Maid was published in January 2016. It is based on a world I have been writing short stories about for a number of years. My first Mir story was a never published Christmas story called “Kalendriel’s Song” and takes place on Earth 2700 years before the events of “Mir Maid”. Another story, ‘The Children of Cain” takes place on the world of Mir around the time of “Kalendriel’s Song”. Both of these stories are briefly referenced as history in Mir Maid.
The book “Mir Maid” was inspired by my grandmother. She served in the Women’s Army Corp during WWII, and was transformed from an awkward Brooklyn teen to a woman who would go on to found a school for EEG techs using her army training. In February of 2015, I got to spend some time with my grandmother, hearing her stories on last time. A week later, she died, and I became serious about wanting to write something to remember the girl who left her home to do something women didn’t generally do.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Other then the necessity of writing while in a constant state of distraction, thanks to five children and several farm animals, I don’t know. I once wrote a chapter with a hypothermic chicken tucked in my shirt to warm up. Does that count as unusual?

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I really love British authors, everything from CS Lewis, and Tolkien to Neil Gaiman, and JK Rowling. (I read ALL of the Harry Potter book in a week- not sure I slept that week) I currently enjoy Hugh Howey, though I spent an inordinate amount of time as a teen reading Star trek books and anything written by Ursula LeGuin. I could read a book by Piers Anthony or Ann MaCaffery in an enjoyable afternoon.My favorite book is the Bible. I think the best stories are riffs on the oldest, and truest one. I also think everything we read influences us in some way.

What are you working on now?
Right now I am working on a children’s book “Jimmy Logan and the Lamplighters Curse”. It’s about a boy in a robot suit that perceives things that other people miss. I have a great illustrator on board and am really excited about the project.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Something along the lines on “plant your butt in the chair and write”.
And “First Drafts are crap”
And “The art is in the revision.”

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a contemporary romance writer mainly dealing with tattooed, biker, erotic themes and subjects. I have, so far, written four books and have had three published as of 1/2016. I live in South Central PA and am originally from Upstate New York.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is titled “Twisted” and it’s the 4th book in my Drawn Series. It deals with unconventional relationships and it was inspired by the whole idea that …maybe you can be in love with more than one person at a time, despite the views of everyone around you. It deals with two brothers who are in love with the same woman and try to make a relationship work amongst themselves.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I guess. I don’t always listen to music, but when I do, it’s usually when I am writing a sex scene. Otherwise I like it warm, cozy and quiet.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King, definitely and D.L. Roan. Also Jay Crownover’s book Rule got me kick started into writing about books where there wasn’t necessarily your cookie cutter happy ending.

What are you working on now?
The last book in the Drawn Series and then after that, a book titled One Year.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
SO far, it’s been Facebook. I’ve only been doing this for 2 years this March, so I am always learning of new ways to self promote.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t get discouraged. Everyone started out at the bottom, and when you’re doing it yourself, it’s ten times harder but worth it in the end. Promote and work with your fellow indie authors and NEVER cut another author down. The indie community is truly a family and I am so lucky to be apart of it!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Turn off your phone, the tv, social media, etc and JUST WRITE!

What are you reading now?
The #Hashtag Series by Cambria Hebert.

What’s next for you as a writer?
An anthology that is set to be released in March 2016. 22 stories from 23 authors all to benefit the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women and then the release of my book titled Twisted, also in March/April.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Oh wow, that’s a tough one. ONLY three or four??!!! Hmmm, I guess I would have to take Phantom by Susan Kay, Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness, It by Stephen King and A blank journal so I could keep writing!

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a wife and mother of two precious girls. I had struggled with health problems my entire life and it all seemed to be pointing to the food I was eating. The turning point came when my two young daughters were beginning to suffer from the food they were consuming. It was time for a permanent change!

Our journey to wellness began by having the whole family changing their diets from processed foods and sugar to whole real, fresh from the farm foods. There were a lot of stumbling blocks along the way, especially when trying to change two young children’s diets.

I have been successfully on a whole food diet now for 5 years and counting! I have just written my first book, How to Keep Real Food Simple, that tells the world how I’ve been able to maintain it!

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first book describes what I learned during my journey into the sometimes complex world of whole real food. It was inspired by my own personal journey and the tricks and tips I learned along the way. I’m a simple person who enjoys the simple things in life and I feel if I can help someone else learn something an easier way I have a duty to share.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, I think I write very simply. I try not to use too many words to describe my recipes and blogs. I think sometimes there is too much clutter, too many advertisements and too many words to describe simple things.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
When it comes to cooking and healthy eating I am continually inspired by the real whole food movement on social media. They are really generating awareness to a very important topic.

What are you working on now?
I’m working on the second book: Whole Food Kitchen: The Basics of Bone Broth. It’s really a simple book that will go into simple detail on all types of bone broth and how to use them.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m new to all of this so I’d have to say it will be getting the word out on social media and through free ebook promotion sites.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
To all new authors, please remember that every author was initially a first time author! Write what you are passionate about and never give up!

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Focus and be consistent.

What are you reading now?
The Kindle Publishing Bible.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to continue to write books about whole real food and try and encourage people to get back into the kitchen with food from the farms. It’s easy when you have the right tools in your bag!

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Bible, that should last me a long, long time.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I live in southern Missouri, deep in the piney woods. While I love it here because of the beautiful scenery and opportunities for long, quiet walks or leisurely floats on clear, bubbling streams. But the seclusion can be hard to deal with. The closest town of any size is an hour away and the closest airport is over 100 miles away.

I worked for most of my life as a teacher in public schools, community colleges, and online. At the moment, I work part time as an online editor for professional development documents for a virtual education provider. Don’t tell them, but I write or think about writing nearly all the time.

I’ve written and published two books. The first one is a creative nonfiction book that I self-published more for family than for publication. The second is titled Just Like Gravity and is a paranormal romance/adventure about reincarnation and karma set in Scotland.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Just Like Gravity was published in November of 2014 by Oghma Creative Media. It is about a reluctant fortuneteller who travels to Scotland seeking the source of bad dreams. The book peeks into three reincarnations and tells a story of love, betrayal, hidden treasure, murder, and Karma.

The ideas of reincarnation and divination fascinate me so when I decided to get real with the writing thing, those topics were the first I wanted to explore. While I don’t pretend to understand how the Cosmos works, putting together a book about three lifetimes allowed me to explore those ideas and my own beliefs about them. I wondered what would happen if you found yourself repeating the same thing over and over–always ending in death and blood. How could you work your way out of that and change the outcome? That is what the main character asks herself, but she’s flying blind–unaware of the past lives and unaware of the way those past events are manifesting themselves in her current life. I think we are all in the same boat as we try to make sense of the lessons we’ve learned and the challenges we face.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Loads! I think all writers do. I like to exercise first–take a walk, yoga, maybe meditate. Then a shower, a bite to eat, and a fresh cup of tea.

That is on a perfect day. More often, I get up late, throw my hands in the air because the day is half over, grab a cup of tea and gallop to the keyboard. I do find I write better and more efficiently if I am mostly clothed with a little makeup and earrings–the earrings are important. I have also employed what I call my lucky writing bra–a black thing with hooks and lace. Try not to picture it; some things you can’t unsee.

Music is an important part of my writing day. I make a playlist for my work in progress and load it up when I get stuck or when I am writing something particularly difficult to get out.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I read the classics as a youngling and continue to write first drafts containing long, Poe-like sentences. I find I use keenings–those multi-word descriptions like the wine-dark sea– from the Odyssey and other kinds of imagery from early British works such as Beowulf. Shakespeare’s intricate plots and the crowd-pleasing qualities of his stuff remains the pinnacle to me. I love language, so wordplay and any work that shows the ever-changing quality of English is valued.

As for the craft of writing, Stephen King’s On Writing, William Zinsser’s On Writing Well, and Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style have been particularly helpful.

What are you working on now?
Ah–I’m so glad you asked. I’m deep in a three-book Gothic adventure/romance about a witch named Zoraida Grey. The first book, Zoraida Grey and the Family Stones is finished and seeking an agent/publisher. I hope to release it later this year. In Zoraida Grey and the Family Stones, Zoraida’s crazy granny is dying and Zoraida must steal a fabulous healing stone to save her. Zoraida’s life in Bear Hollow, Arkansas, has grown stale as has her relationship with one-time lover and local tattoo artist Al, so she’s up for the challenge–until she finds out the stone is guarded by sorcerers. In a haunted castle. In Scotland. When Zoraida and her best friend find the stone, they also find themselves smack dab in the middle of a clan war and bewitched by not one but two handsome Scottish witches. Granny didn’t tell Zoraida everything–not by a long shot.

The second book in the series is titled Zoraida Grey and the Voodoo King. I’m nearly finished with this and hope to release in before the end of this year. The third book is Zoraida Grey and the Black Tower. That one is in outline but I have no doubt I will finish and release it early in 2017.

I’m also working on an anthology of Zoraida Grey short stores that follow her around Arkansas as she reads tarot cards, hunts werewolves, and battles demons. Look for it in May, 2015.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I blog, tweet, and FB. I relied on a publisher to help market and have been disappointed at the lack of marketing from that entity. I am building a following on my blog and working to provide quality content there. I use FaceBook to promote, as well as Twitter, but I’m still looking for that magical combination that produces sales. I maintain a presence at GoodReads and several groups who read and/or promote paranormal books.

My belief is that if I consistently provide fun, entertaining, and useful content, they (readers) will come. Marketing is a numbers game–focus your promotions on YOUR specific audience, create unique content, share the dickens out of it. I’m in this for the long haul, so I do something everyday to get the word out about my writing. I also believe that writers are not in competition and do better when they band together. I’m looking for such a group of progressive, savvy writers to join.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write like the wind. Then revise. Then have somebody else read it. Then revise again. And again. Repeat as necessary.

I read a great many books that need just a little more time–one more revision–one more set of critical eyes. The plot is there. The characters are developed. But the author did not take the time to tell the story as it deserves to be told–and this takes time. Good storytelling is a thing of beauty like a fine wine, a classic painting, a single-malt whisky. Savor the experience and produce something you can be proud of. I am suspicious of an author who poops out 4 or 5 or more books in a year. It is easier than ever to get published, but the art of telling a story still takes time.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Two things have helped me. While I love to read, when I began to write fiction, I wondered it I was doing anything I could truly call useful. I went into teaching to make positive differences in the lives of my students. I think we all have gifts and we have to use them for the greater good–but what good is a simple romance or a rousing adventure–really? A favorite author told me. M.C. Beaton writes neat little books about Hamish MacBeth and Agatha Raisin among others. She was asked why she writes what she does. Her response really helped me find purpose. “I write to give, as other writers have given to me, a good time on a bad day.”
That simple idea informs everything I write. Every story or book is a gift I am preparing for a reader somewhere who needs some fun, some romance, some adventure, some interesting ideas. While I don’t pretend to do it perfectly, this is my goal.

The second bit of advice is the bit you always hear–just write. Put your butt in the chair, put your fingers on the keyboard, and write. Writers write (and when they are not writing, they are thinking about writing which also counts as long as you eventually get around to writing.)

What are you reading now?
I just finished a little book titled Smoke Gets in Your eyes and other lessons from the Crematory. It is a lively look at death and the way our culture handles (or doesn’t) handle it. Eye-opening and thoughtful, but–you might imagine–a little depressing. I have not grabbed anything else to read yet, but am looking for something lighter and more fun. A nice serial killer, perhaps.

What’s next for you as a writer?
While I work on the Zoraida Grey franchise, I’m also developing a blog and learning to market more efficiently. The blog is all about legends and traditions in many cultures. Many of these things I find in research, but others seem to seek me out. I love sharing the amazing diversity of beliefs and practices from ancient people and explore how those traditions have grown and changed. I include quite a few witchy bits on the blog such as healing herbs and crystals. Topics about anything Celtic–especially Scottish–and information about single-malt whisky–especially Laphroaig–show up with regularity.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I would cheat by taking my big book which contains the entire 5 books of the Hitchhikers Guide trilogy 🙂 and count it as 1 book. Then I would pack my huge Riverside Shakespeare volume which contains all of Shakespeare’s works. If I had time to plan, I would search for a compendium which holds the entire Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books and count that as 1 also. And then I would find a multi-book book of all or most of P.G. Wodehouse. Ta da. 4 books.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m one of those people who lives to write. It is in my blood. I have kept myself organized with lists and journals for as long as I can remember. The story telling is a craft I have fine-tuned because…..I guess I was just born that way. I was imagining stories before I could write them. Every time I finish one story I wonder if I can write another…and then I do. For me, writing is as natural as breathing. It is how I organize my thoughts. It is how I express my feelings and defend my actions. Writing is how I breathe.

I’m a country girl. Never lived in a city; never wanted to live near a city. I love the unique sounds and smells of country living. Country living is versatile–peaceful most of the time. It can also be hectic and just down right chaotic. Especially on a productive cattle and grain farm.

I spent many years writing about my life as a farmer’s wife, a young mother, a teacher and an aspiring writer. I have always wanted to ‘remember’ life on family farms and rural living in general so I try to incorporate those aspects of my life in my fictional stories. More than anything…I just want to imagine…

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Robin Unaware is the 4th edition to my Birds in Peril series. Here is a synopsis of that series:
Five women met, fell in love with and married men who aided the arrest and subsequent imprisonment of Sheldon Humsler. Even though the events that disrupted their lives, do not necessarily involve Humsler, they certainly invoke the conviction that one day Humsler will find a way to enact his revenge. All of these women and the men they marry are in some way closely connected to Humsler’s arch enemies, Benton Cromwell, T.J. Harvester and Thad Hunt. Because of Humsler, Benton Cromwell’s life and livelihood have become so precarious he now lives as an invalid on borrowed time. However, his friends, T.J. Harvester and Thad Hunt continue to grow in family and in deed. Both are well loved by many. The time is near when a final confrontation with Humsler must occur. Humsler has an accomplice…someone closely connected to Hunt….but who could that possibly be?
#1 Pigeon in a Snare (Lisa’s story)
#2 Roses for the Sparrow (Jani’s story)
#3Plight of the Wren (Susie’s story)
#4Robin Unaware is Stephanie’s story

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Is being a night owl unusual? For some, I guess it is. For me, the quiet sounds of the night when the T.V. is off, the phone is unlikely to ring and my husband has gone to sleep are the most productive hours for me. Those or the hours I write.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My all time favorite book is Ashes in the Wind by Kathleen Woodiwiss.
I have a long list of other favorites. I tend to read romance or ‘people stories’ but I like science fiction and historical novels too

What are you working on now?
I am in the very beginnings of Birds in Peril #5 Challenge the Eagle. It will be Sylvia’s story. I am also considering publishing another story that has been with me for a very long time (Sweet Pea). Sweet Pea is more of a nostalgic love/life story that spans about 40 years from the late 1960’s into 2009. I hope to be able to publish both books sometime in the later part of 2016.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
All the Awesomegang connections, of course!

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just write. You are the only one who can take those words out of your head and apply them to paper or computer screen.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Finish it. Once when I was struggling and wondering why I bothered, a romance writer friend told me (ordered me actually) ‘Just finish it!” She said, “You can decide what you want to do with your manuscript after you’ve written it. But if you won’t do anything at all if you don’t finish that story first.” That advice has become my mantra.

What are you reading now?
I’m between books. I just read Dana Perino’s “And the Good News Is” (loved it, btw). I haven’t begun to read another book yet. I will soon…I have a stack of them waiting…mostly romantic fiction or action adventure

What’s next for you as a writer?
We had a really busy fall with farm work and getting Robin prepped to publish. And, we endured a few anguished months in that my mother-in-law died in October and in November I experienced the dreaded ‘lump’ in one breast. I also discovered I was legally blind in one eye because of a cataract. In between all of that, my wash machine and my vacuum both went caput. So, I had the necessary surgeries to correct my health problems in December 2015. All the pathology reports were negative and I have acquired near 20/20 vision in the eye where the cataract was removed. Last week I bought a new washer and a new vacuum and on January 24, 2016 my husband and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary. NOW….I just want to write. I want to throw everything else out the door into the cold and the snow while I sit in my cluttered little office and write Sylvia’s story (Birds #5)

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
my Kindle (well charged)
The Bible, a prayer manual
and a photograph album of my loved ones

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Raleigh Daniels Jr and I am 20 years old. I have written stories ever since I was nine; I was born with Asperger’s Syndrome, a condition to which I have a social disability. I have written a total of three books (two unpublished and one published). I love creating heroes based on mythical legends and adding unique spins to them.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My book, The God of Alpha is my first book in a series, and one to be published. I have always loved werewolves and vampires as well as history. I have and love history – especially in the 1920s. We were taught that that the 20s were a perfect time for prosperity and optimism however this was not the case with everyone.

This book shares my experience with racism and me overcoming it.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I listen to music (instrumental) when I write, as well as eating sugary treats as well as walking all over the place.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Avatar Chronicles series by Connor Kostic

What are you working on now?
My second book, “Season of the Zeta”. It’s a direct sequel to The God of Alpha.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Wattpad. I feel that its an early start for those who want to generate an audience.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
I have been told that patience and hard work go hand in hand with one another. However my advice, writing is the easy part.

Promoting is the hard part, but don’t let that slow you down. You need to keep promoting in order for you to have your books noticed. Keep doing that and then eventually you will see your book on number 1 on the Amazon Best Seller List.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Patience is an author’s best friend.

What are you reading now?
Emperor’s Blade by Brian Staveley

What’s next for you as a writer?
I don’t know, I’m just gonna let life show me clues.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Emperor’s Blade
and the books Epic and Edda by Connor Kostic

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an author, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur. My company HappyLiving.com is on a mission to improve the health and wellbeing of the world, one person at a time.

I live on Lake Norman in Mooresville, North Carolina with my beautiful wife and our two daughters.

I graduated from the University of California – Davis, where I studied Economics, ran track, and played football. I dedicated my first two years after college to becoming a professional athlete, only to come up short with the unique distinction of being cut from three different teams, in three different leagues: Canadian, USFL, and NFL.

Over the next 30 years, I focused on training myself to become a successful businessman. I was given many opportunities to learn and gain expertise in the various functions required to start, grow, and lead successful businesses.

I have shifted my focus from helping businesses to helping people. On January 16, 2014, I decided to sell my previous company and dedicate my time and resources to researching and sharing best practices for happy living.

I write to inspire others to believe that a better self is always possible – today, every day, for the rest of their lives.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Belief Road Map is my first published book.

It was inspired by something I call the seven foundations of health. I believe health is more than just a body that’s free from disease. For me, true health means a fully optimized human being. That requires a daily practice focused on many areas of one’s life.

The Seven Foundations are: Physical Fitness, Mental Fitness, Spiritual Fitness, Financial Fitness, Love, Adventure and Significance. I have created personal philosophies for each of these to guide the way to the life of my dreams.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When I started writing, I was advised to set a deadline for when the book would be finished. I dismissed that advice and instead chose to commit to a writing schedule. I decided I would write 90 minutes per day, five days per week. I focused on the process of writing the book, not an arbitrary deadline for finishing it. The book would be finished when it was fully written. Until then, I just kept writing.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
So many. Here is my top three.

Dr. Wayne Dyer, Stephen King, and Steven Pressfield

What are you working on now?
My next book is called Turning Inspiration into Action. It’s about connecting to the powers you need to conquer negativity, act on the best opportunities, and live the life of your dreams. I hope to have it published in the next few months.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
We have a page on our website at HappyLiving.com dedicated to our books. We also utilize Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest. And we have an ever-growing email list of fans that help us.

Perhaps the best method for promoting our book is doing an interview for Awesome Gang… .

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes.

1. Read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft by Stephen King, and Book Launch by Chandler Bolt.

2. Believe in yourself.

3. Learn the craft

4. Do the work.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
More than thirty years ago I received a piece of advice that transformed my life.

“Your day belongs to another’s dream.”

I wrote about the meaning of this on my blog: http://www.happyliving.com/2015/07/08/nothing-is-missing/

What are you reading now?
Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life by Dr. Wayne Dyer, Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success by Mark Coker, and The Big Short by Michael Lewis

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am currently busy marketing The Belief Road Map, I’m in the final phases of completing Turning Inspiration into Action, and this summer I’ll be working on a book project for a charity.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life by Dr. Wayne Dyer
Goat Brothers by Larry Colton
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
The River of Doubt by Candice Millard

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an accountant by profession and during school days won prizes for essays and short stories. Other than what I have published in school magazines this is the first book that I have written.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Having worked in many organizations as accountant I was able to get valuable experience and observed the failures and successes of businesses and how they fail or succeed. This inspired me to share what I have learned with others.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
During school days I preferred to write short stories on science fiction.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favorite author was Arthur C. Clerk. I like the writing style of Frederick Forsyth.

What are you working on now?
Nothing at the moment.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Amazon.com

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Being a new author myself, my advice to them is to write freely, the more you write the more you gain the ability to write.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
That the book Moby Dick was rejected by many publishers.

What are you reading now?
The “God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins

What’s next for you as a writer?
Depends on the outcome of my first book.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The monk who sold his Ferrari
How to Brew
The ultimate situational survival guide.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a native of Los Angeles, California and best known for my outrageous humor, new world organization concepts and unforgettable characters.

I wrote my first story when I was about 12; I had just discovered Judy Blume. At my primary school, about twice a year, our homeroom teacher would pass out full color catalogs of books for young readers. The catalogues were cheaply printed on thin newspaper but chock full of tiny images of book covers and a brief synopsis for each book. Those were my favorite days at school, but also the days I’d get into trouble; we were supposed to take them home and look at them there, but I could never wait to do that and would have to be told several times to put the catalog away! My mom raised me on her own—I don’t know how she did it!—but she still found a way to let me choose all the books I wanted from those catalogs. It was like Christmas when those books finally arrived at school. My book bag would be full to busting with all my new paperback books—it’s how I caught the book bug.

Not including the first book I ever wrote (still unpublished—ha!) I’ve written 3 books: a domestic suspense story in a dystopian setting, a paranormal satire and a short horror story.

Ambitious desire for social acknowledgment, the rise of economic awareness, emotional transcendence, triumph and revenge are recurring themes.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is AFTERLIFE. It’s a paranormal satire inspired by some old metaphysical audio recordings I came across on YouTube while looking for something entertaining to keep me company as I did something boring (probably the dishes). It was a recording of a book called THE NATURE OF PERSONAL REALITY by Jane Roberts. It got me thinking about how so much of what we experience is based on our beliefs, which led me to imagine what my own interface between lives might be like; based on my life experience, I imagined (and still hope) that it might take the shape of a cocktail bar (with free drinks!) and the idea for AFTERLIFE was born. AFTERLIFE is me writing (in good humor) about what I live and have come to know. The story is set in Los Angeles in 2026 and is interwoven with my own crazy/mean/colorful relationship experiences with people in (and sniffing around trying to break into) Hollywood.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t believe I have any unusual writing habits—I don’t think I’ve even ever heard of any. There are things I habitually do in preparation for writing, though I wouldn’t say these habits are unusual. But in case they are… I open the windows, shake the rugs and fluff the pillows in the room. I wipe down my entire workspace with a clean cloth and white vinegar (the surface of my desk, keyboard, monitor or laptop). I smudge the room with white sage and follow with a sweet smelling incense—usually sandalwood or nag champa, or some dhoop sticks (my favorite) if I’ve got some. Lastly, I fill a carafe with lemon water, make a pot of coffee or tea and put it on a tray right on the desk so I don’t have to get up for anything for a while. Then, I sit down, wait for the voices in my head to start talking and type out whatever they say!

Specific books that influence me are of the non-fiction variety. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STYLEBOOK AND BRIEFING ON MEDIA LAW, EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES by Lynne Truss and a book written by Steve Kaplan called THE HIDDEN TOOLS OF COMEDY are books I always keep close at hand when I’m writing (these are my literary teddy bears). I particularly appreciate the work of Esther & Jerry Hicks; I weave their teachings into my stories often.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I’m elbows deep in producing The Afterlife Podcast, my second serial fiction podcast. The Afterlife episodes will begin airing in late spring. Right now, we’re still in Season One of The Mollyville Podcast, based on the dystopian fiction series I write—Mollyville. Both podcasts are available on iTunes and Stitcher and via my website.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still discovering this myself. A friend of mine (an ex-agent at CAA) suggested to me that the best thing I can do to promote my work is to create a following—it was what inspired me to do the podcasts. As far as methods, well… I’m still finding out for myself. As I discover what works, I will be happy to share those methods with any other writers who want to know (and ask me).

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes. Prioritize what matters to you. If you’re writing a novel, come up with a daily word count and hit it—make sure you f*@k!ng hit it—every time you sit down to write. Doing this is what really made the difference for me.

I read in an old interview with Stephen King that he (at the time) had a word count goal of 2000 words every day. He said he has breakfast with his family, takes a pot of tea and goes into his room to write. (I paraphrased slightly, but that is the gist.) When I read that, I said to myself, “Well, I want to have a career like Stephen King so that’s what I need to do too.” And I began—I elected a different word count than his, but I adopted his process.

At the end of my first day—yes, I hit my goal—I felt so empowered! It was such a good feeling that I decided that I wanted to (and could!) feel that good feeling every day! Now, I won’t say what my word count goal was/is but I will say that it’s up there. The reason for this is that I didn’t want to take a whole year to write my first book.

For any book I write, this is my process… I begin with a general idea of the genre I want to write; I look up the average word count for that genre (Christine Frazier at BetterNovelProject.com has the best stats on this—go to her site, subscribe to her blog, it’s helpful and inspiring!) then I decide the date I want to have the first draft finished by. I use an online date calculator (I like timeanddate.com) to come up with the exact number of days between the date I will begin my novel to the date I plan to finish it, and I use that number of days to divide into the average word count for the genre of story I intend to write. For example, if the average word count for my genre is 120,000 and I want to finish the novel in six months, I divide 120,000 by, let’s say, 103 days. I get 1,165 words per day that I have to write to have completed my draft by the date I selected. Why is this awesome? Because you can’t lose. As long as you hit your goal each day—now, mind you, on that date calculation I excluded weekends and holidays so I can still have a life—you’re going to have your book completed on or before that date. Each day, you’ll get closer to your goal. Doing it this way completely removes any doubt that it’s going to happen. With each day that you move toward your goal, you build confidence in yourself and your ability to write this book you’ve dreamed up. It’s very empowering. Each day that you accomplish your word count goal, you’re winning.

This brings me to my last two (and final) pieces of advice.

1. Start early in the day. Don’t save your writing until last; make it your priority to finish your words first.

2. (and my final piece of advice) Is to remember the first: prioritize what matters to you. It’s amazing all the distractions—great and small—that present us an opportunity to do something other than write. Don’t let them in. You can do this.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“There is nothing more important than feeling good.” Esther Hicks, when she’s channeling Abraham, says that.

What are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading FINDERS KEEPERS by Stephen King.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I wrote a screenplay last summer. An executive producer suggested a few re-writes, I’ll be working on those as soon as I finish The Afterlife Podcast. Then, I’ll be back in the dystopian world of Mollyville, writing the second book in the series, Mollyville: State of Shock.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’d bring THE SURVIVAL HANDBOOK by Colin Towell, one of those Sherlock Holmes anthologies that has every Sherlock Holmes mystery ever penned, THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH by G.K. Chesterton, and THE PEARL, a collection of erotic serialized novels, lewd short stories, jokes, limericks and 19th century smut released by the New York Book-of-the-month club in 1996.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a poet, passionate about events or situations that effect our lives.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
It’s Time to Wake Up! Poems and Messages that inspire the black experience

Do you have any unusual writing habits?

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Maya Angelou and Robert Frost is a huge influence.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on a romance novel under another pen name.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I like Awesomegang because the email newsletter places your book in front of readers. That is the promotion that writers need. I have found some great books as a reader from their the newsletter.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read, read, read. This way you can see how it is done. Don’t be afraid to have your own style as long as it makes sense.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. – Stephen King

What are you reading now?
A Sci-fi fiction novel.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to continue to improve and publish my works.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Skylar Nightingale – Forbidden Acts
Stephen King – On Writing
Mila Ferrera – Spiral

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am currently in full time employment, so I don’t get the time to write that I would like, but I managed to get a publishing deal for Rings of Smoke last year. This is my début novel, and I am well under way with the sequel.
I have always wanted to write and many of my friends encouraged me to do so, but most were surprised (some shocked) when they read Rings of Smoke. They thought I was going to write comedy – maybe I will one day – not this dark, disturbing thriller.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book has a working title of Cold Blooded, but that may change before it is completed. The title Rings of Smoke came from a song by Led Zeppelin (Stairway to Heaven), and sprung to mind when Billy, one of the main characters in the book, spotted the smoke through the trees in the forest, and assumed it to be the lodge where Fitch, the antagonist, was staying. Originally I had the line ‘In my thought’s I have seen rings of smoke through the trees’, but had to remove it for fear of being sued!

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When I paint a wall (which isn’t often), I start in the middle and work out from there. Rings of Smoke was a bit like that. I started at some point in the middle with Erin incarcerated in a secluded lodge, and worked from there.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
Flowers in the Attic by Virginia Andrews was an important book for me. The fact that is was a family deserted by their mother, with no father to help them, leaving them at the mercy of their wicked grandmother, probably resonated with me.
John Grisham has been one of my favourite authors over the years. with a list too long to include here.
Frank De Felitta’s ‘The Entity’ because I just love anything about the paranormal. Lancashire Witches was another one.
And of course, the classics. Dickens, Trollope, Eliot and Hardy all made me realise how wonderful words were.

What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the sequel to Rings of Smoke, but also have a few other ideas floating around. I have a desire to write comedy and have many funny tales to tell, so watch this space.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best method? I ask my husband. He’s in charge of that. ‘Readers in the Know’ has been a great source of websites that promote free or discounted books, and ‘Ask Dave’ was very useful when I first published RoS on Amazon KDP in 2012.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Never give up on your dream. I’ve had countless rejections from Literary Agents, but kept plugging away. Eventually I found somebody prepared to give a newby a chance.
Work hard at the craft, never stop learning and always have time to read other books.
Keep a notebook handy to write down ideas, especially when you’re reading. If you come across a line that you think works well, write it down.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The first point above, never give up on your dream.

What are you reading now?
Right now? ‘I had to let you go’ by Clare MacIntosh. I go through one or two a week, so that will soon change.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I really want to make a success of this, so I will be pushing and pushing until my career takes off and I can quit my day job to write full time. I do believe that the sequel will be the catalyst that sends Rings of Smoke to the top. We already have a film deal, just need the funding.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Tess of the d’Urbervilles, The Brethren (John Grisham), and Post Mortem (Patricia Cornwell).

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
FORESTIUM will be my début novel but I am already working on ARCHIPELAGO, book 2 in the PORTALLAS series. I’m a writer, blogger, family man, business man, graphics artist, educator, IT professional, local community volunteer and the man of the house (or at least that’s my wife says I’ve convinced myself) in a wonderful, loving family of 4. I’ve been married for 28 years and have two wonderful children, although with their special needs it can be a handful at times.

I’ve been writing for quite some time but have never taken on anything as substantial as a novel before – but I’m enjoying every minute of it.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
PORTALLAS – FORESTIUM will be released in the coming days/weeks and I’m really thrilled already with all the positive feedback I’ve been getting from beta readers and publishers. I’m not sure I can pinpoint the actual moment of inspiration but the realisation dawned on me not too long ago that I could put my writing skills to good use and do something really productive with it – hence this novel was born.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know what would qualify as unusual, but I do tend to follow a specific writing routine. When I work on a new chapter, I write brief one-liners for each situation as the scene unfolds in my mind. I write these one after the other on the page. When that’s done, I take each one-liner in turn and convert it into the actual story. By the time the last one-liner is done, the chapter is compete. Then there’s all the re-writes, tweaking, tinkering, changing, fine-tuning, etc.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I got really into the Harry Potter books – I mean like really engrossed. I admire what J.K. Rowling has done to encourage kids to pick up a book and read.

What are you working on now?
Mostly the promotion of PORTALLAS at the moment, although I’m about 7-8 chapters into ARCHIPELAGO also.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Having a background in IT has meant that I’ve been able to create my own web-site from scratch. Almost without exception, publishers and others in the industry have told me they think it’s hands down one of the best author web-sites around. Check it out and judge for yourself: http://portallas.com. I’d love to hear back from you with your thoughts.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just do it! Don’t pay attention to any negativity and treat criticism as a means to make improvements.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
My Dad once told me that I’ll meet lots of people in my life. Some I’ll like and others I won’t. If I’m smart, he said, I’ll learn ‘something’ from each of them. Never stop learning! Always challenge yourself to learn something new every day.

What are you reading now?
This sentence. But seriously, at the moment, I don’t have a particular book I’m into. Promotion of the new book is taking up all my spare time.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to finish off book 2 and then continue mapping out the remainder of the PORTALLAS series.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Well, I don’t think ‘d take works of fiction. I’d probably take books that would help me to survive on the island.

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Travis is the Co-Founder of Flex Watches. He is a highly accomplished and goal-oriented professional, with extensive years of experience in leading sales, developing business ideas, and promoting brands (including celebrities). He is well-versed in analyzing market trends and activities, prospecting, sourcing, and establishing strong relationships to drive revenue goals. He is adept at creating marketing plans, strategies and promotions to optimize business performance and expand territorial coverage. Travis is also an analytical problem solver, proactive team leader, and start-up specialist. He has a proven track record of delivering unequaled service in manufacturing and Retail Sales. Travis has held over 50 licenses including The WWE, Stand Up To Cancer and The Special Olympics. He has also worked with a number of notable clients including but not limited to; Tyga, Paris Hilton, Lululemon, Toyota and Facebook.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Just Startup was written as a guide for fellow entrepreneurs inspired to build their own million dollar business.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I usually wake up in the middle of the night with ideas and take notes in my phone. A lot of my best chapters come from ideas that come to me when I am sleeping.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
The display of power by Daymond and BOLD by Peter Diamandis.

What are you working on now?
Building my companies and investments.

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Social media and influencer marketing.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice is to just startup, no pun intended! Don’t wait for something in your life to change, be the change that changes your life.

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Keep things stupid simple.

What are you reading now?
The power of broke by Daymond John.

What’s next for you as a writer?
I am developing more books for my series “Just Startup”. I will cover specific areas that every entrepreneur encounters.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
4 hour work week, BOLD, and Harry Potter.